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Technical No cold air in car

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Technical No cold air in car

Herts Hillhopper said:
Seg10538 Basically the heater unit is a large box, and goes into the car before just about anything else. This means just about everything has to come out again to access it, and is why labour bills are so high for heater repairs.
The cog has a square that engages with a square peg on the end of the flap, and it’s that square peg that cracks and breaks. I assume the guys in Winchester have found a way to repair that plastic part in situ.
Click to expand...

Last quote is saw from the 'Winchester guy'

Its a no.fix - no.fee £160 repair

He had 10 issue free fixes at that point
( probably pre.covid)

Indeed most repairs appear to be introduction of a durable 'axle' to tie the two pieces back together

With a bowden cable you would feel the resistance build before it breaks

No such luxury with electrical control :eek:

I had to effect similar 20+ years ago on the early tipo-tempra heaterboxes
 
varesecrazy said:
...With a bowden cable you would feel the resistance build before it breaks

No such luxury with electrical control...
Click to expand...
I meant to add more or less those words in my post: with the manual control you can feel if it sticks, but the small (and I suspect relatively powerful) motor in the auto-climate version just keeps tuning. Personally I'm a great believer in the 'keep it simple' approach, and so 'only' have manual air con in my 4x4 - its not really that difficult to turn the controls if i need more or less heat :)

Pretty much same system is used in several Fiat (and other make) models -- this is not a fault that's unique to the Panda
 
Herts Hillhopper said:
This piece in CarBuyer is about the previous model Panda, but the heater is unchanged between the models and usefully it shows the specific plastic part quite clearly. It’s the rectangular end of the heater flap where it fits into the white cog that breaks. https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/news/150591/watchdog-panda-owner-loses-cool-over-new-heater-costs. If you look at the part here https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Product&ProdID=25286&...RAQ0QUBHn6wYDtmVhfShB0WxBrZalpZUaAndYEALw_wcB (it’s the same in 500 as it is in the Panda) you can see the hole the peg engages in. In the CarBuyer photo, the snapped black part is in that hole.

If you can remove the motor (in the drivers side footwell) and then devise a way of repairing the end of the flap, you’ll have fixed it. Some earkier posts refer to embedding a small metal square peg into the plastic by heating/melting it b
Click to expand...



That’s brilliant thanks very much for the clear detail car going in to local garage next Tuesday I’ll give the guy the detail you’ve provided
 
I thought it would be 'fun' to revisit this... Here's a post from a forum in Canada (I think) about how to remove the heater box from a Fiat 500 (which is the same as the one in the Panda). I recall seeing a Panda dismantled like this in a dealer near me, to have the climate control motor fixed... be warned! In passing, for those who have suffered dash rattles in the past, spot the two metal arms in the second photo that connect between the base of the screen and the main 'cross tube' the dash is assembled around. I reckon that's what rattles on the Panda. The photos get larger if you click on them https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/changing-the-evaporator-on-a-fiat-500.35301/
 
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Herts Hillhopper said:
I thought it would be 'fun' to revisit this... Here's a post from a forum in Canada (I think) about how to remove the heater box from a Fiat 500 (which is the same as the one in the Panda). I recall seeing a Panda dismantled like this in a dealer near me, to have the climate control motor fixed... be warned! In passing, for those who have suffered dash rattles in the past, spot the two metal arms in the second photo that connect between the base of the screen and the main 'cross tube' the dash is assembled around. I reckon that's what rattles on the Panda. The photos get larger if you click on them https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/changing-the-evaporator-on-a-fiat-500.35301/
Click to expand...

Good research "Herts". As someone comments on the Canadian thread I think I'd be driving with the windows open. Regarding this thread; this seems to be a great incentive to find a work around to fix the broken actuator shaft.

You also raise the question of dash rattles. On my mission to find the Blue and Me module (...yes its under the drivers seat in RHD guise) I found a "radio module" that is bolted to the centre dash alongside the glovebox this was not very securely attached and was rattling against the metal frame.

Good work
 
Herts Hillhopper said:
I thought it would be 'fun' to revisit this... Here's a post from a forum in Canada (I think) about how to remove the heater box from a Fiat 500 (which is the same as the one in the Panda). I recall seeing a Panda dismantled like this in a dealer near me, to have the climate control motor fixed... be warned! In passing, for those who have suffered dash rattles in the past, spot the two metal arms in the second photo that connect between the base of the screen and the main 'cross tube' the dash is assembled around. I reckon that's what rattles on the Panda. The photos get larger if you click on them https://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/changing-the-evaporator-on-a-fiat-500.35301/
Click to expand...
To be fair - note that here they were actually removing the whole heater box, splitting it in half and then putting a new air con chiller in it. To reach the climate system motor and do the 'Winchester repair' probably only needs the side panel of the centre console removing... but its 'good' to see what is actually in there!
 
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